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Edward Everett Hale 

on the "Colony Idea." 

" Irrigation has interested me greatly since 
I have known anything about it, and the organ- 
ization of emigration, which was the earliest 
public work I went into, as long ago as 1845, 
seems to me to be our most important home 
duty to this day. We ought to have some young 
Raleigh, or John Smith, or Miltiades, or Themis- 
tocles, who would start such a civilization as yoii 
propose." — Extract from a letter of Dr. Hale 
to 1 1 'illiain E. Smythc. 

"Make this Valley full of Ditches." 

" Thus saith the Lord, ' make this valley full 
of ditches.' For thus saith the Lord, ' ye shall 
not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that 
valley shall be filled with water, that ye may 
drink, both ye and your cattle and your beasts.' " 
— //. Kings, jd chap., 16-17 verses. 



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COPYRIGHTED 1895, BY W E SMYTHE 







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HOW IT CAME ABOUT. 



THE following pages speak for themselves. They tell 
the whole story of the colony plans, of the location 
selected for their application, of the results it is hoped 
the new community may achieve. Nevertheless, a prefa- 
tory word explaining how the matter has been brought to 
its present stage, may have interest and value to the 
reader. For behind every prospectus stand a man, an 
idea, and a history. 

For several years past the writer has devoted himself 
assiduously to the study of the institutions of the western 
half of this continent. To his mind the conviction has 
come with irresistible and ever-growing force that this 
broad but comparatively unoccupied domain will be the 
scene of the twentieth century achievements of the 
American people. The great East is largely made. Its 
institutions are deeply rooted. But the masses of its peo- 
ple have not yet fully realized the degree of industrial 
independence, of social and civic equality, which they be- 
lieve to be possible and desirable. It is the writer's con- 
viction that their best aspirations will be realized first in 
the new West, whose institutions so largely await the 
creative touch of human genius. So believing, he has 
labored through various channels of influence to assist in 
arousing and organizing public opinion. 

About two years ago it was determined to present some 
living and breathing arguments, calculated to reduce 
principles to visible facts. To this end the writer studied 
the colonies of the past, including the early English col- 
onies in America and the creations founded by public- 
spirited men in various portions of the West during the 
past half century. Among the latter were the wonder- 
fully interesting Mormon colonies of Utah, the Union 
colony of Colorado, founded in 1870 by Horace Greeley 
and his friends, the charming communities of Riverside, 
Anaheim, Pomona and Ontario in Southern California. 
These latter studies were made on the ground and assisted 
by the recollections — some verbal, some written, some 
published — of the founders and pioneers themselves. 
Foreign developments, notably those now in progress in 
Prussian Poland and South Australia, were carefully fol- 
lowed, so far as this was possible, through literature and 




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The First House at Plymouth. 

The Idaho Colony, Inaugurated by Mr. Sniythe in winter 
of 1K94-95. 

correspondence. Thus informed by the various experi- 
ence of localities widely separated as to time and place, 
a colony suited to the average conditions of the arid region 
of the West was planned and presented to the public just 
one year ago. It was named " Plymouth Colony " and 
was located in the Payette valley of Idaho. The press 
and public treated the matter very generously, and the 
enterprise prospered from the start. The writer remained 
[n active control of the undertaking until — early in June, 
1895 — it was turned over to a Board of Trustees chosen 
from among the colonists themselves. 

The successful inauguration of " Plymouth Colony " 
brought the writer many invitations to engage in similar 
work elsewhere. Probably it is withinbounds to say that 
the necessary co-operation for such a colony could have 
been obtained in any of the states and territories of the 
far West. The various suggestions were all carefully 
weighed, and the choice of a site in Northern California 
arrived at only after mature consideration and faithful 
study of the matter on the ground. 

The natural question as to whether the new colony is a 
philanthropic or a commercial enterprise may be antici- 
pated and briefly answered here. It is neither, in the or- 
dinary meaning of the terms. A very considerable 
amount of capital was required to purchase the colony 
tract, survey and construct canals, develop plans and 
carry them into effect. It is not proposed to donate this 
capital to the colonists, but to put a price on the land that 
will return the capital, together with a reasonable com- 
pensation for the risk, time and labor nivolved in the un- 
dertaking. On the other hand, the enterprise is not com- 
mercial in the sense that large profits are sought. The 
prices are placed at the lowest safe figure, while the irri- 
gation plant, village site, domestic water and electric 
light and power franchises are to be transferred to the 
people al)solutely, so that no one can exact perpetual 
tribute from their use. It is the idea of the founders that 
when capital is employed it should be paid for its serv- 
ices, precisely as labor is paid, Init that it should not ex- 
pect or receive speculative and exorbitant returns. 

4 IJ'm. E. Sjuythe. 



I.— THE ASHURST INDUSTRIAL SYSTEM. 

A Living and a Competence arc the twin olijects of 
the iiulusiiy of averat'-e men. A living comprehends 
food, shelter, raiment; a competence, a surplus for the 
improvement of one's home, for the education of one's 
children, for provision for old age. The industrial 
system of the new colony aims to discover the means by 
which this desideratum may be provided for its members 
by a certainty as great as that of the processes of nature, 
or the results of mathematics. 

Individual Independence is the first object of the col- 
ony on its industrial side. This can be secured by the 
systematic production upon each farm of what the family 
consumes. This policy lies at the base of the wonderful 
economic structure reared by Brigham Young and his 
followers in the valleys of Utah. Statistics show an av- 
erage annual production of $1,357.25 upon each of the 
Mormon farms, or a total of $562,900,000 in forty years. 
Practically all the capital invested in the industries, 
banks and other commercial enterprises of the Mormon 
people, as well as in their church ])roperty, came from 
their small, irrigated farms and is the fruit of this policy 
of individual independence, secured by diversified pro- 
duction. 

A Bill of Fare, cut at random from a San Francisco 
newspaper, follows. While it is not particularly elabor_ 
ate or unusual in any other way, it represents a good 
day's living for the average family. Here it is: 

BREAKFAST. 

Fresh Figs and Cream. 

Oatmeal. Cream. 

Fried Chickens. 

Hashed Browned Potatoes. 

Crumpets. Cucumbers. 

Coffee. 

DINNER. 

Puree of Peas. 

Olives. Celery. 

Roast Turkey. Giblet Sauce. 

Green Corn. Lima Beans. 

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes. 

Lettuce and Green Pepper Salad. 

Oranges, Nuts and Raisins. 

Wafers. Cheese. Coffee. 

SUPPER. 

Mushrooms and Sweetbreads in Chafing Dish. 
Cucumber Sandwiches. 
Compote of Pears. 
Layer Cake. Cheese. Tea. 

The pertinent fact about this bill of fare is that every 
item it contains, excepting coffee and tea, can be syste- 
matically and economically produced upon the smallest 
irrigated farm in California. Indeed, the list can be 
almost indefinitely varied and extended. The average 
man spends between 70 and 80 per cent, of his total in- 



come for the bare necessities of life. The important 
items of food and shelter are put beyond the possibility 
of doubt, without regard to panic or drought, in the case 
of the man who cultivates irrigated land under this 
industrial system. 

A surplus product is essential to provide for the 
necessaries of life, beyond food and shelter, and to fur- 
nish the hope of a reasonable competence as the reward 
of years of labor. In planning surplus crops, as in pro- 
viding the necessaries of life, the projectors of the new 
colony favor diversified production. They believe the 
best basis for a small, highly cultivated California farm 
is not a fruit orchard alone, but an orchard in connection 
with gardens of vegetables and small fruits, with fields of 
alfalfa, with cattle, swine, poultry, bees, and all the 
other elements of a general farm. The best market is the 
home market, and in California, as in all other Western 
States, these diversified productions are i)npo rit'd \.oda.y. 




Preparing Fruit for Drying. 
Ashurt Ranch scene. 



■while fruit is largely exported. Hence freight charges 
operate like a protective tariff iti favor of the diversified 
products and against the surplus shipped East and 
abroad. And there is no danger that this sort of a pro- 
tective tariff will ever be repealed. 

Allied Industries are essential to consume the surplus 
product of the farms and convert them into such salable 
forms as the home market will readily absorb. The 
business plan of the new colony, which is fully described 
in the following pages, provides abundant capital for the 
erection, equipment and operation of these allied indus- 
tries. The plants which it is proposed to provide as soon 
as the colony is organized and in a position to supply the 
raw material requiretl for their successful operation are 
the following: 

1. A Ckeamkky to convert the surplus milk into but- 
ter and cheese. 

2. A Cannery to consume surplus fruit, small fruits 
and vegetables. 

6 



3- A Starch Factory to consume the surplus potato 
crop. 

4. A Packinc HoiSK for the iiroductiou of pork and 
bacon. 

Water Transportation to the great San Francisco 
market is fortunately provided by the Sacramento River, 
and freight rates are thus placed within the control of 
the colonists themselves. With abundant crops assured 
by irrigation, a market for all surplus products guar- 
anteed by the presence of the various industrial plants, 
and cheap water transportation furnished to the place of 
final outlet in the San Francisco markets, it w(;uld seem, 
that prosperous pecuniary returns must surely be added 
to the certainty of a generous living. 



II.— THE ASHURST SOCIAL SYSTEM. 

The Social Instinct. If the first demand of each 
human being is for the means of earning his living, the 
second demand is for institutions which cater to his 
social instinct. The recent startling growth of great 
cities throughout the world bears convincing testin^ony 




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Ready for immediate use of .-Xshurst colonists. 

to this fact. Men atid women crave neighbors and the 
advantages of neighborhood association. It is the aim 
of the new colony on its social side to combine, in the 
highest possible degree, tfie best advantages of town life 
with the independence and healthfulness of rural exist- 
ence. -Such a social plan is not possible in a region of 
large farms, but irrigation permits, if it does not compel, 
a small farm unit. 

The Farm Village. In many ])arts of Europe where 
small farms are the rule the people have their homes in 
central villages and till the outlying lands. This plan is 
very generally adopted also in Utah, and has been used 
in several very successful California colonies. The farm 
village will be a feature of the new colony and the found- 
ation of its social scheme. For this jnirpose a central 
tract of 300 acres, which will be extended if necessary, 
has been reserved in the center of the colony tract. The 
7 



village site is mi high ground and enjoys splendid natural 
drainage. It is abundantly wooded with magnificent 
oaks, so that colonists will not generally have to wait 
for their shade trees to grow. The portion reserved for 
the park is completely covered with a growth of noble 
trees. One extremity of the village site commands a 
splendid view of the Coast Range, while from the oilur 
the towering Sierras are seen to inter{)ose tlieir rugged 
outlines, with the picturesque Lassen Buttes in the fore- 
ground and the glistening dome of Shasta in the extreme 
north. These conditions constitute the raw material^; of 




one of the most beautiful and >.iusl\iii-; i^wns ever 
created, even in golden California. It only remains tor 
man to do his part. 

The Home Acre. Those who purchase twenty-acre 
farms will receive without extra charge an acre lot in 
the village, and those who purchase ten acres will receive 
a half acre lot. The accompanying map of the village 
site indicates the location of these two classes of lots. 
The acre lots will have a frontage of one hundred and 
8 



fifty feet each and a depth of two hundred and ninety 
feet, and the half-acre h)ts a frontage of seventy-five 
feet and a depth of two hundred and ninety feet. Both 
classes of lots will front on the broad circular boulevard 
■which will extend completely around the village site. 
The territory inclosed by the boulevard will be reserved 
for subdivision into business and residence lots with a 
frontage of twenty-five feet and fifty feet, respectively. 
This business and residence property will belong to the 
colony company and be sold for the benefit of its treas- 
ury. Large numbers of beautiful manzanita trees are 
now being transplanted and placed along both sides of 
the circular boulevard, so that this principal residence 
street will innnediately take on an appearance of much 
beauty. It is also proposed to lay out immediately a 
central Ijoulevard of considerable width, running through 
the middle of the village site, but dividing midway in its 
course and forming a plaza in the shape of an ellipse. 
The uses of the plaza will be presently described. It is 




A \'isTA IN Colony Park. 

hoped that each colonist will erect his dwelling upon his 
home acre, conforming to a building line to be estab- 
lished. In the Utah villages it is the custom of families 
to produce all the vegetables, berries and orchard fruits 
required for the family table on the home acre. In the 
case of the new colony, families can raise around their 
houses oranges, lemons, figs, olives, almonds, pomegran- 
ates and other semi-tropical productions, in addition to 
what is grown in Utah. It is also expected that colonists 
will make the most of their phenomenal opportunities to 
enjoy lawns and flowers throughout the year. 

Schools and Churches, as well as stores and the post- 
office, will, of course, be close to the homes of these 
twentieth-century farmers. The school will be provided 
by the school district in the ordinary way. Lots will be 
given in the public park to societies desiring to erect 
churches. The kindergarten has been exclusively en- 
joyed heretofore by city children, but that is also an 
advantage clearly within the reach of the new colonists. 



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The Village Hall. The social heart of the new colony 
will be represented by the \'illage Hall, which it is pro- 
posed to erect in the center of the plaza, on lines which 
will suggest, if they do not du[)licate, the exterior archi- 
tecture of the California building at the World's Fair. 
The white walls and red-tiled roof will make a charming 
picture in the midst of green lawns, flowering shrubs 
and stately oaks. The capital required for the erection 
of this building is provided for and described in the de- 
partment of this pamphlet devoted to the business plan 
of the colony. The Village Hall will serve not only for 
meetings but for club purposes. On the tirst floor it will 
have an audience room with a seating capacity for 500 
peo])le. The upper floors will serve as club rooms, and it 
is ])roposed to recognize the New Woman with a club 
room of her own. During the early years these arrange- 
ments may lack the elegancies which can only be bought 
with money, but the essence of good-fellowship, which 
springs from the human heart and flourishes wherever 
the association of good men and women is possible, will 
not be absent, even at the earliest hour in the colony's 
history. 

A Public Library will be developed and will find its 
home in the Village Hall. The idea of the reading club 
will be utilized and colonists will be able to read all the 
best magazines and newspapers for less than the price of 
one. 

Musical and Dramatic Societies will be organized as 
soon as a sufficient number of colonists shall have ar. 
rived. This is another advantage which flows naturally 
from small farms and association in the village commun- 
ity. Few have realized the importance of this element 
in the social economy of Utah. Brigham Young built a 
splendid theater in Salt Lake City and maintained a good 
stock company of actors. The Saturday night dance 
for which he also provided, flourishes today in the remot- 
est hamlet of his people, and, it may be added, it is 
invariably led by the bishop. 



111.— THE ASHURST BUSINESS PLAN. 

The Associative Principle is well recognized in busi- 
ness throughout tlie world. It provides a means by 
which a large number of people may combine their capi- 
tal for specified objects and thus accomplish what it 
would not be possible or practicable for one or two in- 
dividuals to do alone. Every business corporation is 
founded on the associative principle, and in the recent 
economic development of the West the principle has 
been successfully used by producers and small capital- 
ists. Notable instances are the farmers' canals in many 
western states, the fruit exchanges of Southern California, 
and the stores, factories and banks throughout the Terri- 
tory of Utah. None of these enterprises are co-operative 
in the true sense. All of them represent collections of 
capital subscribed by many small capitalists. The affairs 
of these various incorporated companies are adminis- 
tered by officers chosen from among the stockholders. 

The Colony Company will consist of those who pur- 
chase the land. A share of stock will accompany each 
acre, so that the purchaser of a twenty-acre farm will also 
be required to purchase twenty shares of stock. As the 
price of stock will be $20 per share, a total capital of s8o,- 
000 will be available when the 4,000 acres are sold. This 
stock will be paid for gradually, according to terms dis- 
cussed on another page. 

What the Company Will Own. As soon as the col- 
ony is organized it will become ownerof the entire village 
site and of the irrigation system. These two properties 
go with the land, but the village site must be paid for at 
the same rate as the farming land and upon the same 
schedule of payments. The capital of the company will 
thus be used for the acquirement of the village site, vil- 
lage improvements, and industrial plants. Every colon- 
ist will thus be a stockholder, in the same proportion 
which his land-holding sustains to the total area of the 
colony tract, in the various industries to be created, as 
well as in the irrigation system, domestic water supply, 
electric light and power plants and all other improve- 
ments. 

Use of Company Funds. Careful estimates have been 
made in relation to the probable expenditure of the 
funds of the colony company. It will remain for the col- 
onists themselves to determine the precise order and ex- 
tent of their expenditures. The following estimate is 
made: 

Capital available from the sale of 4,000 

shares at $20 per share $ 80,000 

Estimated receipts from sale of village 

property in five years 20,000 

Total $100,000 



PROKAHLK KXFKNDITIKES. 

\'illage Site Siq,5oo 

Public Hall 1 5.000 

Electric Light Plant 5,000 

Streets and Parks i ,000 

Domestic Water Plant 10,000 

Creamery 4,500 

Cannery 2,500 

Starch Factory i ,250 

Packing House 5i5oo 

Total $64,250 

The above estimates are based on data that has been 
carefully collected from reliable sources. 

The Town Meeting Idea. The first residents of the 
village will all be stocklu)lders in the colony company. 
As the company will own and control all the improve- 
ments, its meetings will resemble the town meetings of 
New England, where all the public affairs are debated 
and disposed of on a plane of democratic equality. It is 
generally conceded that the New England town meeting 
is the purest and simplest form of government yet de- 
vised for small communities. It will be possible for the 
stockholders, in formulating their by-laws, to reserve as 
much power as they choose to themselves and to restrict 
their officers and directors to purely administrative func- 
tions. 

The Advisory Board of the new colony will only at- 
tempt to suggest such plans as seem to its members best 
suited to assist in realizing the objects of the undertak- 
ing. This Board has selected the site of the colony, has 
considered and indorsed the plans here formulated, and 
commends the statements concerning the country and 
conditions as entirely reliable and trustworthy. Beyond 
this the Board does not attempt to go as a body, although 
certain members of it will render certain services in con- 
nection with the work of the colony. Mr. Smythe has 
undertaken the work of enlisting and organizing the col- 
ony; Mr. W. T. Reid and Mr. Homer Wilson will give 
personal attention to the business management of the en- 
terprise until it passes into the hands of the colonists 
themselves; Mr J. E. Reid will assist settlers in the prac- 
tical work of establishing their homes and farms, and Mr. 
Grunsky will have charge of the irrigation work and 
other engineering. Prof. Hilgard, by his thorough analy- 
sis of the soils of the colony, has already rendered a most 
valuable service. At the earliest possible date the colo- 
nists will be expected to organize and take the work into 
their own hands. 



THE SITE OF THE COLONY. 

The Ashurst Ranch lias l)een for forty years one of 
the well-known [jlaces of the Sacramento valley in North- 
ern California. Vina, the famous country estate of the 
late Senator Stanford, is exactly oppcisite, on the eastern 
bank of the river. Cam. B. Ashurst emigrated to Cali- 
fornia from Kentucky during the exciting days of the 
first gold era and found the broad acres of the great 
northern valley more attractive than the mysterious pos- 
sibilities of the mines. He selected what proved to be 
one of the most fertile and valuable tracts of soil in all 
California, and there he has pursued, for more than a gen- 
eration, the extensive farming methods which have char- 
acterized this portion of the State and have been alike 
the source of its poverty and its wealth. 



The Sacramento River. 
Ashurst Colony on the left; Stanford Estate on the right. 

The Passing of the Great Farm. The products 
of these great farms of Xorthern California have 
been principally confined to hay and grain, cattle, 
sheep and hogs. But the glory of these things in 
the old sense has passed away. The fall in the price of 
wheat, which occurred simultaneously with the develop- 
ment of great areas devoted to that cereal in India, 
Egypt and South America, undermined the foundation of 
the system of extensive farming, which made Northern 
California a land of great ranches, sparsely peopled and 
loosely farmed. 

The Range of Production in the north is potentially 
as wide and varied as in the southern counties of Cali- 
fornia. It includes, of course, all that grows in the tem- 
perate zone, and in addition such semi-tropical products 
as oranges, lemons and limes, olives, figs and pomegran- 
ates, almonds and English walnuts. Nowhere else can 
the variety required for a generous table be more cer- 
tainly produced from a small area. 

The Soil has been the subject of the most careful analy- 
sis at the hands of Prof. E. W. Hilgard of the Uni- 
versity of California. For this purpose thirty samples 

U 



were obtained liy l)i)riiii,fs in various jiarlsof tlie i)ro])erty. 
Prof. Hil.i^ard's leptut forms a part of this prospectus. 

Railroad and River. Freight rates and transporta- 
tion facihties are intimately related to the prosperity of 
all western communities. This matter was borne care- 
fully in mind in selecting the location of the new colony. 
The northern division of the Southern Pacific Railroad, 
on its way from San Francisco to Portland, passes (at 
Kirkwood) along the western boundary of the colony 
tract. The Sacramento River, which is here navigable for 
large river craft, forms the eastern boundary of the 
tract. There are two steamboat landings on the property, 
regularly used by established lines. The result is nat- 
urally a freight rate nearly 50 per cent lower than that 
enjoyed by places only half the distance from San Fran- 
cisco. And even this low rate may be cut in two again if 
the colony should find it feasible to own or lease a small 
steamer or lighter for its own uses. 



A Stretch of Ashikst Farms. 

Comparative Cost of Land. The price placed upon 
the colony land is lower than land of such quality, with 
good water right and favorable location, has been offered 
for sale in California in the last decade. Prevailing prices 
for such land in this part of the State, without water 
rights, are S75 and $150 an acre. Improved lands in the 
same locality range from $200 to ;$5oo per acre. Choice 
lands in the San Joaquin Valley are held at about the 
same rate. But the only portion of the State which can 
fairly be compared to the new colony, when the indus- 
trial and social advantages to be provided are taken into 
consideration, are the choicest districts in the San Ber- 
nardino Valley of the South. The model colony of Ontario 
was planned ten years ago. Neither the soil nor climate 
are better than those of the new colony, while the water 
supply is distinctly inferior. The Ontario plan of streets 
and parks, while extremely attractive, is in no respect 
better than that proposed for this colony, yet the original 
price of unimproved lands in Ontario was Si5otoS200 



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Fig Trees on Ashurst Ranch. 

per acre. The lands were worth it. They have returned 
a good interest upon the investment and have steadily 
advanced in value. At $65 per acre the lands in the new 
colony are from three to four times as good a bargain as 
those in the beautiful and prosperous colony of Ontario. 
The Irrigation System is supplied from the waters of 
Stony Creek and the canal has been constructed by the 
well-known San Francisco engineer, Mr. C. E. Grunsky. 
Title to the water appropriation and canal system will be 
transferred to the Colony Company without charge, and 
thus the water supply will be the property of the land- 
owners, who will administer it. This is the only satis- 
factory method, although in many instances the irriga- 
tion system is privately owned and water supplied upon 
payment of an annual rental. Irrigation has not yet 
come into general vogue in the Sacramento Valley. The 
rainfall suffices usually for the pjroduction of a wheat 
crop, as well as for an early crop of vegetables and ber- 
ries, and for very good orchards of deciduous fruits. But 
for the scheme of diversified farming and intensive culti- 
vation which forms the basis of the industrial system of 
the new colony irrigation is absolutely essential. It is 
also unquestionable that irrigation will largely increase 
the product of the orchards, although it should be skill- 
fully ajiplied to give the best result. It must be dis- 
tinctly understood that a continuous supply of water 
for irrigation is not guaranteed in connection with the 
present canal system. At the jioint where the water is 
diverted a sufficient flow is certain only until July 15, 
although in ordinary years it continues from August i to 
15. By a further expenditure sufficient to extend the 
canal to a point of perennial flow the colonists can, if 
they desire, have water throughout the year. It must be 
remembered, however, that in California the agricultural 
season begins in January and that reliable irrigation up 
to the middle of July or August will bring all crops to 
maturity. Alfalfa requires more water than any other 
product of the valley. Irrigation to July 15 will enable 
the farmer to cut alfalfa three times and to have a fourth 
16 



cro]) sufficient lorgood pasturage. It will also be sul'ticieiit 
to produce successive crops of vegetables and berries and 
to give the highest results in the orchards. But in order 
that the tables of the colony may be continuously sup- 
plied with garden products, and that their lawns and 
flower beds may be perennially beautiful, water must 
be constantly available for irrigation in the village site. 
This will be supplied, in connection with the domestic 
water system, by a jiumping [jlant. 

The Small Farm Unit i)revails throughout the colonies 
of the West. In I'tah the census showed the average 
size of ten thousand irrigated farms to be twenty-seven 
acres. In California twenty acres are amply sufficient, 
and E. P. Roe's dictum of "ten acres enough" applies 
here much better than it did to his home on the Hudson. 
The measure of the farm should be what the family, by 
its own labor, can cultivate intensively. 

Colony Park. Most of the colonies established in 
the West have begun in the midst of sage brush desert, 
and for many years their people have been obliged to 
forego the comfort of shade trees and beautiful drives. 
The profusion of oaks on the site of this colony enables 
the people to have shade trees almost as they want 
them. In addition there is a beautiful natural park at 
the foot of the property, bordering the Sacramento 
River, which will be reserved for pleasure purposes. 
Here the shade is dense and in every direction scenes of 
beauty meet the eye. Colony Park is two miles from the 
village. 




Entrance lo Colony Park. 
Wild grapevines overhang the road like a great portiere. 



17 



NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. 



The Fameof California is world-wide. An Englisliman 
recently told the writer that California is about the only 
State with which the European public is at all familiar. 
If it is well known abroad, it is still more so at home. 
The climate, scenery and products of California differ so 
materially from those of Massachusetts, New York, and 
Illinois that every schoolboy is acquainted with them in 
a general way. It is therefore quite unnecessary to de- 
scribe these features at length. But when we pass from 
the consideration of California in general to its great 
northern valley in particular, there is something to be 
said. Recent eastern emigration has centered in the 
southern counties. Los Angeles is the fair ca])ital of the 




I'm-; Manzanita I;\ ergreen. 

section of California which has been most vividly im- 
pressed on our eastern imagination. And Southern Cali- 
fornia is worthy of all the praise it has received. No- 
where else in the world are the rewards of industry more 
evenly distributed. Nowhere else are social institutions 
more nearly ideal. But these things are not due to 
natural conditions of which Southern California has a 
monopoly. They are due to the superior men and women 
who have made their homes in that part of the State. If 
the wheat ranches had been in the South, and the enter- 
prise, culture and public spirit in the North, the results 
which we see today in these two localities would have 
been precisely reversed. If natural resources counted for 
more than human genius, New Mexico would be tar great- 
er today than Massachusetts. But — it isn't I 

An Undiscovered Country. It can almost be said 
that the Sacramento \ailey vi Northern California has 
not yet been discovered by the empire builders who have 
been making new states and communities for the last 
half century in the West. It is literally true that it does 
not possess today a single community which begins to 

iS 



realize its best possibilities. Southern California, on the 
other hand, has a score of such communities, as Pasade- 
na, Ontario, Redlands and Riverside. There is not a 
flower-bed, an orchard or a lawn in these charming com- 
munities which cannot be duplicated in many favored 
spots in the northern valley. The difference lietween the 
beautiful avenues and parks of Ontario, and the bare un 
shaded highways of many a nortliern town, represents 
not a difference of soil and climate, l)ut of men and their 
'deals. The Magnolia avenue of Riverside, and the glo- 
rious gardens on Smiley's Heights at Redlands, could be 
transplanted to the valley of the Sacramento and never 
know the change. Thus, those who know Southern Cali- 
fornia as it is may also know Northern California as it 
shall be. 



A Red Bluff Home. Near Ashurst. 
Trees are Peppers. Palms, Oranges, Figs and Oleanders. 

Climate. The climate of the Sacramento Valley is 
semi-tropical. Speaking in the eastern sense, there is no 
winter. That is, there are neither killing frosts, ice nor 
snow. In the locality of Ashurst Colony the rainy season 
begins usually about November i, and continues until 
late in April. This does not mean that there are contin- 
uous rains, but only that nearly all of the year's precipita- 
tion comes during this period. It rains on an average 
about once in two weeks during that time. Plowing be- 
gins in January, but there is no month in the year when 
the farmer does not work in his field. The three summer 
months — from the middle of June to the middle of Sep- 
tember — are very warm. The heat is not oppressive, 
because humidity is so largely lacking, and generally the 
nights are very comfortable. There are no sunstrokes, 
no thunderstorms or cyclones, therefore the worst ef- 
fects of hot weather are not felt. 

But while this is true, common sense teaches us that a 
country which produces oranges in January, and straw- 
berries all the year around, is not as cool as the northeast 
coast of Maine in midsummer. Land agents who rep- 




Map of Northern Calii-hrma. 
resent the reverse are not telling the truth. Thousands 
of people leave New York city and Chicago during the 
heated term to seek cooler places, and many farmers in 
the Sacramento Valley spend a few weeks in camping 
among the neighboring mountains. Hut under the noble 
oaks which shade the village lots of Ashurst, and among 
the dense foliage of Colony Park, which is at the dispos- 
al of the settlers, it is comfortable at the hottest noon- 
day. During the other nine months of the year the climate 
is perfectly charming, except on the occasional dayswhen 
the north wind blows. The wind is less disagreeable 
here than in most other portions of the West, but it would 
be untruthful to say that it never blows. It can be said, 
however, that there are no sandstorms and that the winds 
are never destructive. The summers are also hot in 
Southern California, and there also the norther is occa- 



sionally in evidence. So that it may inithluliy he said that 
the climate of tlie upper Sacramento \'alley is fully 
e<[ual to that of any portion of the State, with the excep- 
tion of the seacoast. And even there, if one weighs the 
coast fog against the heat of the interior, it will be found 
a " stand-off ." On the score of health the climate is ad- 
mirable and is especially adapted to those suffering from 
lunff or throat troubles. 




An Okangk Tree Near Asm rm. 
It is loaded with perfect (ruit wliich does not show in small cut. 

Products. The products which can be raised in 
Ashurst Colony have been incidentally referred to else- 
where. They include all the grains, berries, vegetables 
and fruits. It is not generally known that semi-tropical 
products, such as oranges, lemons, limes, pomegranates, 
olives and figs, can profitably be grown in the Sacramen- 
to Valley. The writer has been skeptical on the subject 
for years, just as everybody was skeptical about the same 
thing in Southern California until the case was actually 
]iroven. But he has made a most careful investigation 
of the subject on the ground. He' has talked with many 
fruit-growers, scientific experts, and old residents of the 
locality. He has examined scores of citrus trees and 
gone everywhere that information could be obtained. He 
is thoroughly satisfied that oranges and lemons of the 
finest quality, as well as olives, figs and all the deciduous 
fruits, can be grown with certainty and profit. The in- 
dustrial scheme proposed for this colony does not rest 
upon the production of fruit alone, still less upon the pro- 
duction of any single variety of fruit. On the other hand, 
it is proposed to have diversified production in its most 
varied form, and it was therefore desired to select a place 
where e\'erytliing would grow. 

Transportation Facilities. The farmer's first duty is 
to supi)l\' his home table. Beyond this, production is 

21 



vain without a niarkel. And the vahie of that market 
very largely depends upon transportation facilities. 
There is but one railroad system in California from the 
Tehachapi Mountains on the south to Shasta on the 
north. This is not a healthful commercial condition for 
any country. The projectors of Ashurst Colony were 
therefore very particular to select a location where water 
transportation would minimize the cost of freight. The 
Sacramento River is navigable to Ashurst and twenty-five 
miles beyond. There is a regular line of freight steam- 
ers in actual operation and it has two landings on the 
property. The natural result is that railroad charges are 
less by nearly one-halt from Ashurst to San Francisco 
than from points one-hundred miles farther south, where 
there are no water facilities. River freights are even 
lower, and yet these can be reduced very much indeeil 
if the colonists desire to lease or purchase a steamer of 
their own. It is proposed to produce, as far as possible, 
surplus products that can be disposed of in San Francis- 
co market, so that the high eastern freight may be 
avoided. 

This Land Is Cheap. At §65 per acre Ashurst 
Colony offers the cheapest irrigated land in California. 
Every man who has made the slightest investigation of 
the subject is aware of the truth of this statement. Sim- 
ilar lands in Southern California range from Sioo to S400 
per acre. Similar lands in this portion of California are 
generally held at $100 to §200 per acre. When sold at 
these prices there is usually an extra charge for water 
right, besides an annual water tax of §2 to Sio per 
acre. The low jirices in the case of Ashurst are due 
solely to the fact that the interested parties are satisfied 
to receive a very reasonable return upon their invest- 
ment, and feel an interest in the industrial and social 
plan, which far outweighs the commercial consideration. 




Atias. 



Castle Crac.s. 
Copyrighted by R. J. Waters. Pliotogiaphcr. 




Mdss BuAii Falls. 
Copyrighted by R. J. Waters. Photographer. 

The total investment retiuired at Ashurst, however, is 
S85 per acre, the additional $20 being the subscrip- 
tion for stock in the Colony Company. The capital thus 
raised, together with the receipts from the sale of town 
property, will be invested in the improvements and 
industries. It may safely be said that the lowest price 
at which similar land can be obtained m California, not 
including a water right, is $100 per acre. Thus the 
price for land and stock together in Ashurst Colony is 
$15 per acre less than the price for the bare land on 
the cheapest terms usually obtainable. Read the list 
of advantages which the Ashurst colonists will enjoy in 
comparison with what is offered elsewhere. 

Scenery. Northern California is framed in noble 
scenery. At Ashurst the Sacramento \'alley is about forty 
miles wide, but the Sierras are plainly visible to the east,, 
and the Coast Range to the west. The highest visible 
points of the Sierra Range are the Lassen Buttes and the 
giant Shasta in the extreme north. Shasta is distant 
more than 100 miles, but is generally visible, sometimes, 
standing out bright and clear, blushing in the evening 
sun, and sometimes seen but dimly through the blue haze, 
like the grim specter of the vast mountain it is. 

The immediate surroundings of Ashurst Colony are 
very beautiful. It must be remembered that the country 
is not in a desert state, but that it has been cultivated 
for grain crops and that there is a sufficient rainfall to 
produce some vegetation everywhere. There is a beau- 
tiful growth of white oaks scattered over the colony tract, 
and the spot chosen for the village is especially favored 
in this way. The Sacramento River, which bounds one 
side of the colony, is a wide, deep stream, and ranks 
among the most beautiful rivers in the West. Indeed, it 
is comparable with such rivers as the Merrimac, Con- 
necticut and Susquehanna in our Eastern States. At this 
point the river is lined with a beautiful forest, which it is 
proposed to transform into a park for the benefit of the 
colonists. 



Game, Fish, Near=by Resorts. There is good fishing 
in the river and the best of opportunities for hunting 
during the season. Besides a variety of small fish, the 
salmon is snared here in sufficient quantities to supply 
the home demand. Quail, prairie chickens an^ water 
fowl are very abundant. In a word, the vicinity abounds 
in opportunity for sport, which is at once pleasant and 
profitable. Such famous mountain resorts as Uunsmuir, 
Castle Crag, Shasta Springs, and others, are from loo to 
150 miles north of Ashurst, andare thus reached in three 
to five hours by rail and in two or three days by wagon. 
There are also nearer camping grounds in the foothills 
directly east and west of the colony. These are only 
twenty-five miles distant — an easy day's journey by 
wagon. There probably is no place in the country where 
the people are more in the habit of taking advantage of 
the near-by resorts than in Northern California. Every 
summer the mountains are full of camps and a large 
portion of the population enjoy the outdoor life. 

The Average Man will find in Northern California the 
most inviting field for home-making in all the broad West. 
Institutions have been created in Southern California 
which will always make that section attractive to people 
of large means. But because land is cheap in the north, 
because the water supply is abundant and does not, 
therefore, involve a heavy tax, because the long seasons 
and fertile soil enable a family to support itself upon a 
very small farm, and because so great a variety of pro- 
ducts can be raised, the North, rather than the South, will 
be the land of the common people. It may be predicted 
that another great era of development in California is 
close at hand, and that its scene will be the Sacramento 
Valley. 



THE QUESTION OF PROFITS. 



The profits in any business depend very much 
upon individual industry and skill, and somewhat upon 
the varying conditions of the market from year to year. 
It is frequently represented that a yearly profit of from 
$500 to Si, 000 per acre can be realized from California 
orchards. These statements are essentially dishonest, 
because a fair average of returns cannot show such 
results. First of all, the colonist is sure of his living, 
because he collects it directly from his farm. Beyond 
that, he ought to realize, even when prices are low, from 
$50 to $100 net per acre above his living. This means 
$500 to $1,000 on ten acres and Si, 000 to S2,ooo on twenty 
acres. There will always be some men who will realize 
higher returns, and some years when everybody will reap 
phenomenal profits on account of unusual market condi- 
tions. It can truthfully be said that the rewards of 
intelligent industry in the colonial life of Arid America 
are surer and better, upon the average, than in any other 
form of industry that can be named. 
■^4 



SPECIAL ADVANTAGES AT ASHURST. 



For peculiar reasons it is believed that imlustrioiis fam- 
ilies can start in Ashurst Colony with a smaller cash 
capital than can be clone anywhere else in California. It 
must be remembered that the colony tract has been con- 
ducted as a large farm for nearly forty years. It is 
therefore fully stocked with horses, mules, fine Holstein 



n 'n 

a-M 

O H 



Ox 

x'z 



o > 




cattle, hogs, chickens and turkeys. Mr. Ashurst has dis- 
posed of the ranch to the colony syndicate and must of 
course dispose of the live stock. He desires to sell it to 
the colonists who are to live where he has made his home 
for more than a generation. He wants these colonists to 
succeed and he is willing to do all in his power to help 
them get a good start. He will supply them with every- 
thing they need in the way of live stock on very favor- 
able terms. He will put low prices upon the stock and 
sell it on long-time payments if desired. He will go fur- 
ther, and take his pay for these things in labor or 



products of the farms. For these reasons horses, cows, 
swine and pouhry were left out of the following list of 
thiiii^s to be supplied by cash. There are other ways in 
which colonists can economize: For instance, it is not 
absolutely necessary to have a brand new wagon of the 
latest style. There are quantities of old wagons in the 
neighborhood which can be obtained for almost nothing. 

Here are some other special advantages offered at 
Ashurst Colony and not likely t<j be duplicated else- 
where: 

Free luood for fuel for fitst three years. 

Free pasturage for stock for the first year. 

Feed at San Francisco prices, less freights. 

Meat, lard, etc., at less than San Francisco prices. 

Lumber for building at cost on the land, guaranteed to 
be less than San Francisco or Sacramento prices. 

Employment at current wages most of the time, ivhich 
may be paid for in cash or in feed, lumber or other Jieces- 
saries. 

The above are extraordinary offers and it is possible to 
make them only for these reasons: First, the colony tract 
has been a great farm and all these things are produced 
there. Second, the owner has a sentimental interest 
in seeing his property divided among a class of indus- 
trious, successful, small farmers, and is willing to make 
special inducements in order that this may be speedily 
accomplished. 



COST OF STARTING A HOME. 



It is difficult to lay down a rule which will apply to 
everybody in estimating the amount of capital required 
to make a good start in the new colonial life. The matter 
depends very largely upon individuals. Some of the 
most successful settlers in the West have started with 
almost nothing. There are other instances of people who 
have started with considerable and failed. In the case 
of Ashurst Colony it is imperative that a family shall be 
able to make the first payments on land and stock. Be- 
yond this the expenditures will be determined by indi- 
vidual taste and thrift. The following is a careful esti- 
mate of the necessary expenditures : 

20 Acres. lo Acres. 

First payment on land S325.00 S162.50 

First payment on stock 100.00 50.00 

House 100.00 100.00 

Fencing 20.00 10.00 

Stable 25.00 25.00 

Implements 100.00 100.00 

Total, S670.00 S447.50 

The above covers only expenses which must necessa- 
rily be paid in cash. It will be noticed that there is no 
mention of horses, cows, hogs, or poultry in the above list. 
26 



COMPARE THIS WITH OTHER CALI- 
FORNIA PROPOSITIONS. 

Il is hardly necessary to urge people who are thinking' 
of moving to California to make the closest comparison 
between what is offered by Ashurst Colony and by other 
California propositions. People will do this any way 
because it is a serious matter to move one's home, espe- 
cially if one's capital is small, and no prudent colonist 
will do so until he has made the most careful study of 
the various opportunities open to him. Here are some 
of the things Ashurst offers which are worthy of special 
consideration: 

The easiest tcr»is of payment. 

The lowest interest on deferred payments. 

An irrigation system given with the land. 

Gotiernment of the colony by the colonists themselves^. 

Absolute freedom from the control of water and land 
corporations. 

IVater transportation frojn the farm gate to the greaf 
San Fraticisco market. 

The lowest prices at which good general fruit land is 
offered on the Pacific Coast. 

No annual water taxes, except as the land-owners 
themselves may make assessment for repairs. 

All the allied industries required for the consumption 
of the surplus crop, and ownership of these itidus tries by 
the prot/uccrs themselves. 




:ia*5«^^s^<i^r -•r,i 



)I)-CllOPI'ERS AT ASHLRST. 



THE SETTLER'S FIRST YEAR. 

KiKKWOOD, Oct. 28, 1895. 

:\lr. W". 1:. Smythe, 

Chicago, 111. 

De.ak Sik : — Your letter of the 21st inst., received. In 
answer to your questions of what a man could exjiect to 
acquire from a 20-acre irrigated farm in our colony the 
first year, I would say that he could only expect such in- 
come as he could realize out of his vegetables which he 
Avould raise. 

He could probably sell enough vegetables to pay the 
expenses of a small family and plenty for the family use 
Toesides. He could also realize Sioo.oo or $200.00 on 
poultry. 

But the second year he would have a larger income as 
he could have his alfalfa from which he could either sell 
the hay or feed it to cows, hogs and poultry and realize 
from the products of the stock. 

The second year he might also raise strawberries, which 
yield wonderfully well in this country and most always 
find a ready market. 

The third year his fruit would probably commence 
tearing, then he might realize a very good income. 

He would realize, say, $250.00 from alfalfa, $100.00 on 

fruit. Si 50.00 on poultry, and if he kept swine and cows, 

he might realize more, and as his fruit trees and alfalfa 

iields grow older he could expect a much larger income. 

Respectfullv vours, 

J. E. Reid. 

TERMS OF PAYMENT. 

Price of land, with perpetual water right, $65.00 per acre. 
Price of stock (one share of stock to each 

acre imperative) 20.00 per share. 

LAND PAYMENT. 

One quarter on signing contract $16.25 

One quarter April i, 1898 16.25 

■One quarter April i, 1900 16.25 

One quarter April i, 1901 , 16.25 

Total $65 .00 

STOCK PAYMENTS. 

A share. 

Cash on signing contract S 5.00 

January i, 1897 5.00 

January i , 1 898 5.00 

January i, 1899 5.00 

Total S20.00 

Interest on deferred Land Payments, 5 PEK CENT. 
Interest on deferred Stock Payments, NOTHING. 



GOOD FAITH. 

We foiiiHl tlu' coiulitiou of soil, climate ami 
^vater supply more IVivorable than repre-sent- 
4^(1. — From report of Chiraijo Couimittee to 
last jjenr's PUjmotith Colonists. 

28 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 



1. Is the map of the cohiny tract ready, so that selec- 
tions of farms and village lots can be made at once? 

.ifis. Yes. The map can be seen on application to J. 
E. Reid, at Kirkwood, California, or at the Sherman 
House, Chicago. 

2. Is the colony to be co-operative? 

Ans. This question requires two answers: i. — Each 
colonist will be sole proprietor of his own farm and resi- 
dence property and can conduct them with absolute in- 
dependence. 2. — The public utilities, such as irrigation 
canal, electric light and domestic water supply, and also 
the several small industries, such as creamery, cannery, 
starch factory and packing house, will be jointly owned 
by the colonists by virtue of the stock they will have pur- 
chased in the colony company. The disposition and 
management of these properties will rest entirely with 
them. They can sell them, lease them, or operate them 
through superintendents, as they think best. This is not 
co-operation in its true sense, but the familiar association 
of stockholders in a corporation. 

3. Will abstract of title be furnished free? 
Ans. Yes. 

4. Are there any buildings on the colony tract now? 
Ans. Only the farm buildings of the old ranch. 

5. Are there any settlers there now? 

Ans. There is a small community at Kirkwood, which 
adjoins the colony on the west and is two miles from the 
Ashurst village site. Settlers are just beginning to ar- 
rive at the new colony. 

6. Can colonists obtain any employment in the neigh- 
borhood ? 

.his. Yes, Mr. Ashurst will furnish employment at 
wood-chopping and other ranch work and pay in provi- 
sions, live stock, or cash, as the colonist prefers. 

7. How small a tract will be sold? 
Ans. Five acres. 

8. How far is the colony site from San Francisco? 
Ans. 175 miles. 

g. What is the price of alfalfa? 
Ans. $4.00 per ton in the stack. 

10. Will there be any facilities for instructing settlers 
in methods of irrigation and horticulture? 

.his. Yes. It is proposed to employ an expert super- 
intendent and to illustrate by experimental farms the 
highest methods adapted to the conditions of Northern 
California. J. E. Reid is a notably successful horticult- 
urist and will give settlers the advantage of his knowl- 
edge and experience. 

11. What about fuel for heating and cooking j)ur- 
poses? 

Ans. Fuel will be furnished free for three years, or 
can be obtained in exchange for labor, or can be had 
from the colonist's own place if he chooses the wooded 
land. 

29 



Q'JESTIHNS AND ANSWERS. 

12. When will the colony start? 

.his. Everything is ready for individuals to begin 
their work at once. The campaign for colonists is now 
under way in Chicago, New York and Boston, and it is 
jirobable that the colony organization will be effected by 
March or April. It is hoped to formally dedicate the 
colony in the autumn of 1896. Plowing begins in Cali- 
fornia during January, and perhaps the fall of the year is- 
the best time for a family to go there. 

13. Are there any railroads? 

Ans. The Oregon & California R. R. (Southern Pa- 
cific System) runs through the western edge of the colony 
tract, about two miles from the village site. Freight 
steamers touch regularly at two landings on the colony 
property and this competition gives low freight rates. 

14. Do purchasers have to pay for irrigating water? 
Ams. The irrigation system will be deeded outright to 

the colony company. Hence there will be no charge for 
water rights and only the small annual cost for repairs 
and administration, to be determined by the colonists 
themselves. 

15. Are there any houses to be rented. 

A/is. No, but a house that will answer very well for 
the early years can be built for less than the annual rent 
of a respectable city tenement. 

16. What kind of people will compose the colony? 
Ans. As a rule, thrifty people from the commercial, 

professional and skilled trade classes — people having a 
capital of Si, 000 per family and upwards — are attracted 
into colonies of this sort. There is always a sprinkling of 
people from the farms and a certain percentage who go 
on account of their health. The undesirable elements of 
city population are nei'er attracted by these plans. 

17. How far is the land from the Sacramento River? 
Atts. It begins five miles west and runs to the river 

bank. 

18. Is land ready for irrigation, or is considerable ex- 
pense necessary to get it under cultivation? 

.Ins. Most of the land has been farmed in grain. 
Hence there is no sage brush to be cleared. The land 
lies well for irrigation. Some portions of the tract are 
covered with oak and other trees which must be cleared. 
The owners will undertake to clear such land for one- 
half the wood, or the colonist may clear it himself as he 
prefers. 

K). To what extent is alkali found? 

.Ins. There is none. 

20. What is the cost of obtaining well water? 

Ans. About $50.00 if the labor is hired, but if a suffi- 
cient number of colonists go together to provide for the 
domestic water supjily at the beginning there will be no 
need of wells. 

21. Is the country subject to sand storms? 

.Ins. It is not. See paragraph on climate in page 20. 

30 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 

22. Can a t)icycle be used? 

Ans. Yes, you can bring your precious wheel. The 
roads are good and in three hours you can ride to the 
piney woods in the foothills of the Coast Range, or of the 
Sierra Nevada. 

23. How deej) is it to water? 
Ans. Twenty feet. 

24. What is the name of the county? 
Ans. Tehama. 

25. What is the source of supply for irrigation? 
Ans. Stony Creek, one of the tributaries of the Sacra- 
mento. 

26. Is it healthy? 

Ans. It is the warm, dry climate of semi-tropical Cali- 
fornia to which thousands of invalids are sent every year 
by their physicians. 

27. How about fleas and mosquitos? 

Afis. There are practically none of either, according 
to the testimony of the residents. During a considerable 
stay the writer tried hard to discover these insects, but 
failed. Even in the dense woods along the river there 
are practically no mosquitos. The locality seems to be 
outside the mosquito belt. 

PROF. HILGARD'S REPORT ON THE 
SOIL. 

The Sacramento X'alley covers many thousands of miles 
of level alluvial lands drained by the Sacramento River 
and bordered on the east, north and west by broad and 
somewhat higher bench and undulating and rolling red 
and yellow clay lands; the so-called foothills lying against 
the mountain slopes. The respective foothill lands of the 
Sierra on the east and the Coast Range on the west, 
differ from each other in some respects, because of the 
different rock strata from which they were derived; but 
both are highly esteemed for the production of fruit, and 
in the lower portions, of grain. 

On the west side of the Sacramento River the Coast 
Range foothill lands cover nearly the entire valley, 
reaching north from Stony Creek to Redding. 

The Colony Tract lies within this region at Kirkwood, 
Tehama county, reaching eastward from this village to 
the Sacramento River; and embraces undulating uji- 
lands, level bench lands and a belt of rich alluvial loam 
along the river. 

The banks of the river, consisting of alluvial silt, are 
for the most part quite precipitous because of the wash- 
ing of the current, and rise generally some fifteen or 
twenty feet above low water. The bed of the river is 
firm with masses of gravel and cobble stones, the water 
■clear and deep and the curreiit moderately rapid. The 
banks afford good steamboat landings in high and low 
water seasons, and thus easy transportation facilities are 
afforded either by water from this point, or by rail from 
Kirkwood, to Sacramento and San Francisco. 

A general view of the Tract presents a broad and level 
central plain or bench land, timbered with oaks, and 
reaching from Kirkwood to the broad belt of river bottom 
land already mentioned ; on the north and south this 
bench land is bordered by undulating ujjlands. 

The Tract is therefore conveniently described under 
these regional divisions : River allm'ial lands. Bench or 

31 



sedi))ient lavds, and Undulatins: uplands \\\\\\ its subdi- 
visions. The whole tract is susceptible to cultivation. 
Many representative samples of the soil of each region 
were taken to a depth of one foot, and the subsoil to two 
feet, and submitted to an examination in the chemical 
laboratory; the results are given in the following special 
descriptions. 

THE BENCH-LAND OR SEDIMENT LAND. 

The central portion of the Colony Tract is, as has 
already been said, a broad and level region covering 
about 3,000 acres, or about one-half of the entire area; it 
has a gentle slope from Kirk wood toward the river, and 
Dry Creek (dry throughout most of the year) has cut a 
narrow channel from four to six feet below the general 
level. The land in general is above any overflow and is 
covered with a fairly thick growth of white oaks, some of 
them having diameters of from two to four feet, and 
interspersed with much smaller oak growth and with 
some manzanita bushes on the northwest. The soil is a 
yellowish loam or sediment varying but little in character 
to a depth of many feet. Sections of wells dug in this land 
to a depth of eighteen feet to water show this soil alternat- 
ing with thin beds of gravel at intervals of a few feet. 
The soil itself is more or less gravelly, and in places the 
gravel has accumulated by washings sufficiently to cover 
the surface. 

The soil is easily tilled and should be very productive 
in crops suitable to it and the climate, for an examina- 
tion of the samples taken show it to be well supplied 
with potash and phosphoric acid (two of the chief ele- 
ments of plant-food) together with a moderate percentage 
of lime. A portion of the land has been under cultiva- 
tion in wheat and is said to have yielded finely. A small 
orchard of several varieties of figs, apples, etc., on the 
place of Mr. Ashurst is doing well. The figs especially 
have a luxuriant growth. 

THE UNDULATING UPLANDS. 

On the north and south sides the bench-lands are un- 
dulating or slightly rolling, entirely treeless and all sur- 
face rises some fifteen or twenty feet to uplands which are 
under cultivation. They cover an area within the Col- 
ony Tract of about qoo acres on the north and 100 on the 
south. The lands embrace three distinct classes of soil, 
viz., a yellow, calcareous clay loam adjoining the bench 
land, black adobe or stiff clay in the swales of the north- 
ern tract, and red clays of the higher lands in the extreme 
northwestern part of the Tract. 

The calcareous clay loams cover the southern up- 
lands and about 500 acres on the north, and lie from five 
to fifteen feet above the bench-lands. The soil is grav- 
elly, but not enough so to affect its tillage or productive- 
ness. It is calcareous and well supplied with lime and 
potash; it has also one-tenth of one per cent of phosphoric 
acid, which is a good average. The land is therefore 
rich in all the elements of plant-food and highly produc- 
tive, [irobably next to the alluvial land. It is easily 
tilled and apparently suited to both orchard and vine- 
yard growths as well as cereals. Oranges should do well 
on this and the red clay soils. 

The black adobe appears in the swales or depressions 
between the u])land ridges and covers many acres. It is 
perhajis the most northerly occurrence of that class of 
l)lack adobe soils that cover large areas in the counties 
to the south. It is very stiff, black in color, cracks open 
in dry seasons and is rather difficult to till. It has a 
depth of about four feet and is underlaid by the clay 
loam described above. It is impervious to water and 
springs of water issue from the western hillsides just 

32 



potash, lime and ]iliosph()ric acid and very productive in 
certain crops, adapted to such soil. 

The red clay lands lie in the extreme northwestern 
part of the Tract and cover about 300 acres. They 
reach further north toward tiie mountains and probably 
represent the true red clay lands of the western foothills, 
thoutjh the latter are often very much more clayey. 

The soil is more or less filled with gravel and is very 
deep. It doubtless underlies the clay loams and the 
lower bench-lands, as clays said to be similar to it were 
struck at eighteen feet in the well on the place of Mr,. 
Ashurst near the river, and penetrated forty feet to 
water-bearing gravel. 

The soil is a reddish sandy clay, more clayey than the 
calcareous loam described above, and is rather stiff, 
becoming plastic on wetting; it is, however, easily tilled. 
Examination shows it to contain about one-tenth of one 
per cent of phosphoric acid, while lime and potash are 
also abundant. It is, therefore, well supplied with nec- 
essary plant-food for the [iresent and should be highly 
productive. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

Considering, then, the Tract as a whole, I would say 
that I regard it as presenting very favorable features for 
the location and supj)ort of an agricultural colony. With 
very few minor exceptions it is all cultivable, easily 
tilled (excepting, perhaps, the adobe) and deep. It is 
easily drained and ground water is apparently more than 
fifteen feet below the surface. 

Then, too, the soils are well supplied with those 
elements which we regard as of vital importance to the 
growth and productiveness of plants, except perhaps 
nitrogen, which can be supplied by green-manuring or 
otherwise. R. H. Loighbkidge, 

Asst. Prof. Agricultural Chemistry, 
University of California. 

I have examined the soil samples taken by Dr. Lough- 
bridge on the Colony Tract; and having full confidence 
in the correctness of his observations, I fully concur in 
the opinions expressed in the above rejKirt regarding the 
agricultural value of the lands in cjuestion. 

E. W. HiLGARD, 

Prof, of Agriculture and Director of California 
Experiment Stations. 




An Ai.i.-the-Vuar-.'Xrolnd Lawn. 



33 



THE ASHURST ADVISORY BOARD. 



William E. Smythe, Chainnan, has been identified 
with the championshii) of irrii^ation and colonization for 
a number of years, and has, perhaps, contributed more 
than any other man to the popular literature of the sub- 
ject. His work on the platform, and through the medium 
of the National Irrigation Congress, has been widely ac- 
knowledged, and the New Plymouth Colony, which he 
inaugurated in Idaho during the winter of 1894-95, at- 
tracted more attention than any similar effort since the 
founding of Greeley, Colorado, in 1870. 

William T. Reid, formerly president of the University 
■oi California, at Berkeley, founder and present head of the 
famous Belmont School for boys at Belmont, California, 
ranks among the first educators in the country. Few men 
have studied the conditions of home-making in Califor- 
nia with higher or better trained intelligence than Presi- 
dent Reid. In giving his approval to the plan of Ashurst 
Colony he has studied the matter not simply from indus- 
trial and ethical standpoints, but practically as well, and 
with a view to actual contlitions on this particular tract, 
which he has conscientiously examined. 

E. W. Hilgard fills the chair of Agriculture at the Uni- 
versity of California and is also director of the Agricul- 
tural experimeni stations. He is universally recognized 
as the highest authority on the soils of the Pacific Coast. 
The name of Professor Hilgard stands for the best and 
highest ideals in agriculture and horticulture. His com- 
prehensive report on the soils of Ashurst Colony is printed 
elsewhere. 

Homer Wilson, a successful business man, has made 
a special study of the industries related to the products 
•of the soil of the Pacific Coast. He is manager of an im- 
portant group of creameries, and has extended his studies 
to the practical details of operating and managing can- 
neries, packing houses, and beet sugar factories. His 
knowledge and experience in these lines will be of the 
highest value in developing the allied industries of 
Ashurst. 

J. E. Reid has been engaged for years in the business 
of raising and shipping California fruits. He has been 
jiotably successful in this line of business, and for this 
reason his service to the colonists as a member of their 
Advisory Board ought to be of the highest value. He 
has arranged to devote his time to this work exclusively 
■during the first few years of the colony development, 
and is now at Ashurst, prepared to assist settlers in 
selecting and planting trees and developing their farms. 

C. E. Grunsky ranks among the first irrigation engi- 
neers on the Pacific Coast. He is in charge of the con- 
struction of the irrigation system at Ashurst, and also of 
the work of subdividing the property. He will advise 
•concerning the development of the village tract, domes- 
above it. Analyses show these adobes to be rich in 

34 



tic water supply and electrical plant. In the practical 
\vi)rk he has the assistance of Otto \'on Geldern, who also 
ranks high as a civil engineer. 

Cam. B. Ashurst was one of the early pioneers of 
Northern California. Me has lived for forty years on 
the place which has now become the site of the most 
notable colonial effort in California. He knows every 
foot of the ground, and his knowledge and long expe- 
rience will serve as a ready fund of information for 
settlers. Deeply attached to the place which has been 
his home for forty years — the place where his children 
were born, and which has been the scene of his success- 
ful business career — Mr. Ashurst not unnaturally desires 
that every colonist shall be successful, and is ready to 
devote his time freely to this end. 



STANFORD'S CHOICE. 

Senator Leland Staiil*or<l had all California 
to choose from in .selecting- his country estate. 
He chose a place in Northern California on the 
Sacramento Kiver, exactly opposite Ashurst 
Colony. 






'^m^ ' 






A Glimpse of Colony P.ark, Ashurst. 



35 



THE 



Colonial 
Lectures 



CHICAGO NEW YORK BOSTON 
riR. ShYTHE ^'l*^ lecture 



IN 



Willard Hall^ Chicago 

On the followint( Dates and Subjects: 

November 26th, 

"A Living and a Competence." 

December 3d, 

" Social Side of Colony Life." 

December loth, 

"California and the Average Man." 

December 17th, 

"A Twentieth Century Colony." 



Lectures on four successive Tuesdays at 8 p. m. 
Admission FREE. Public Cordially- 
Invited. 




The Colonists Dessert. 

ASHURST COLONY. 

For additional copies of Ashurst Colony lit- 
erature, and further information concerning the 
work, call upon or address, 

WILLIAM E. SMYTHE 

Sherman House, CHICAGO. 

36 



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